March 29, 2023

Martian cave entrances may offer a life-friendly radiation shield

Martian cave entrances may offer a life-friendly radiation shield
Martian cave entrances may offer a life-friendly radiation shieldMartian cave entrances may offer a life-friendly radiation shield
Martian surface

A void on the Martian surface that may contain caves, captured by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s (MRO) HiRISE camera

NASA/JPL/UArizona

Most of Mars is extremely inhospitable to life, but there may be a workaround – the areas near the entrances to caves may be shielded from some of the harmful radiation that bombards the planet’s surface.

Because Mars does not have a global magnetic field or a thick atmosphere like Earth, its surface is exposed to dangerous UV and ionising radiation from space, which presents a problem for native life and …